Depositor for chocolate and the like



May 29, 1951 A. A. TUNLEY 2,555,057

DEPOSITOR FOR CHOCOLATE AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 21, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 29, 1951 DEPOSITOR FOR CHOCOLATE AND THE "LIKE Allan Ashmead "I'llnley, Peterborough, England, assignor to Baker Perkins L'imitei Peterborough, England Application February 21, 1-955, Serial No.57 9,053

In Great Britain February 26, 1944 This invention relates to machines for depositing chocolate, cream or other viscous liquid, in the mould trays of a continuously travelling conveyor, and is concerned with mechanism for oscillating the depositor to accord with the travel of the moulds during the depositing period to effect deposits either with no relative movement between the depositing nozzle and the mould cavities or to produce a predetermined relative movement to draw or spread the chocolate in the mould.

In known machines of the type to which the invention has reference, a fixed throw crank running at one revolution per deposit (or piston cycle) or (in a modification of the said type) a variable throwv crank running at threetrevolutions per deposit, oscillates the deposi'tor .by means of a quadrant lever and adjustable link mechanism to draw or centre the deposits in the mould, under the control of a cam which varies the position of the quadrant fulcrum for purposes of skip v(i. e. accommodating the 'interval between mould tray'si).

To deal with the different varieties of'work, adjustments have to be made in the variable throw crank and quadrant link mechanism, and additionalvmeans includin a cam and adjustable cam roller lever mounted on the depositor hopper are provided for modifying the oscillations produced'in either the fixed throw or the Variable throw crank species of machine,

The known mechanism is somewhat complicated and the operator has available a number of adjustments which are liable to lead to confusion; also certain of the devices are mounted on the depositor and'partake of its oscillations, thus undesirably increasingflthe mass in motion. Moreover, the additional cam mechanism for modifying the oscillations involves a discontinuity of contact vor lost motion between the modifying cam and its roller with the result that the operation may be abrupt or lacking in smoothness.

The aim of the present invention is to provide improvements which afford a simplification of the mechanism for oscillating or controlling the oscillations of a 'depositor of the kind in question, which not only reduces the cost of construction but offers more direct mechanical operation and provides an arrangement which does not add to the oscillating mass.

A further advantage achieved by the improve- .ments liesin the .fact that the number of adjustments required to attain any particular. result is reducedand the work of the operator simplifled and rendered less confusing.

The invention consists in providing alternatively selectible eccentric (or crank or cam) drives affording different timing or frequency of the quadrant lever oscillations and providing adjustment means for varying the quadrant link throw from maximum to a zero position coincident with the lever fulcrum, in order to afford eccentric (crank or cam) drives interchangeably connectable to the quadrant lever.

A convenient mode, according to the invention, of effecting the interchangeable connection may be afforded by providing a detachable connecting rod adapted to be united to one or other of the eccentrics and to the quadrant lever, the preferred arrangement being that one eccentric is driven at the rate of three revolutions per deposit (or piston cycle) for draw motions while for synchronizin small deposits (such as above indicated) the other eccentric may be driven at one revolution per deposit (or piston cycle).

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a depositor having oscillating mechanism accordingto the invention,

Figure 2 is an end view looking from the right in Figure l, the hopper bein removed, and

Figure 3 is a section on line 3--3 of Figure 1. In carrying the invention into effect according to one mode as described by way of example, the depositor hopper I is' pivotally mounted at 2 on a suitable frame 3 over the mould conveyor bed (not shown) so that it may be oscillated to and fro in the direction of the mould conveyor travel in known manner. Connected to the lower portion 4 of the hopper I is one end of a link 5 the other end of which is connected at 5 to one arm "I of a bell-crank lever, the other arm 8 of which is connected at 9-to another link i (which may be referred to as the quadrant link) the outer end of which is pivotallymountedin a slider in a quadrant lever H, The quadrant link IE) is provided with adjustment'means I? for adjusting its effective length a to vary the zone of operations of the deposit nozzle or outlet valve I3 longitudinally of the mould conveyor.

The quadrant lever II has an arcuate slot I4 in which the slider of the quadrant link I is displaceable by a screw adjustment device I5. The quadrant I I carries a back plate I6 by which the quadrant is mounted on a fulcrum pivot pin II integral with the back plate the axis of pin I'I coinciding with the centre line of the quadrant arcuate slot I4 to enable the slider pivotal axis to be adjusted to coincide with the fulcrum axis when it is desired to reduce the motion communicated to the quadrant link Ii] by the quadrant II to zero. The fulcrum pin I! is pivotally connected to the end of arm I8 of a bell crank cam lever the other arm I9 of which cooperates with the skip cam 20.

The quadrant lever I I has an operating arm 2I which is connectable to one or other of a pair of eccentrics to be described.

A constant speed drive shaft 22 is positioned in the depositor supporting frame 3 and carries a series of change-speed pinions 23 meshing with a corresponding series of pinions loosely mounted on a lay shaft 24 and selectively coupleable therewith through clutch means in known manner. By this arrangement the lay shaft 24 may be driven at any predetermined speed afforded by the appropriate selection of the change-speed pinions.

The drive shaft 22 also carries a gear 25 which meshes with a gear 26 for driving the skip cam 20.

Fixed conveniently on one end of the lay shaft 24 is an eccentric 21 (which may be hereinafter referred to as the short stroke eccentric) so that this eccentric makes one revolution per revolution of the lay shaft 24. Adjacent the short stroke eccentric 27 another eccentric 28 (which is called the long stroke eccentric) is mounted on a collar 29loose on the lay shaft 2 3. The collar has a gear 30 which is driven through an appropriate train 3i, 32 by a gear 33 fixed on the lay shaft, the train being devised so that for each revolution of the lay shaft 24 the long stroke eccentric makes three revolutions.

The long stroke eccentric 28 is intended for imparting to the depositor hopper I three oscillations per depositor piston cycle, the deposit or valve opening I3 being adjusted to take place towards the end of the forward oscillation and extending over the backward movement and part of the next forward oscillation, with a view to drawing the deposit out along the length of the mould and turning under or back the ends of the chocolate deposit.

The short stroke eccentric 21 is intended for oscillating the depositor I in such a manner that while the deposit is taking place substantially no relative movement exists between the mould travel and the depositing nozzle and may be used, for example, to make a deposit centrally in a series of rows of small mould cavities such as where there are four longitudinally disposed mould cavities per tray.

The strap of each eccentric 21, 28 is adapted to receive a plate 34 fixed to the end of an interchangeable connecting rod 35, the other end of which is detachably connectable to the drive receiving arm 2! of the quadrant lever II. The plate 34 is adapted to be connected to one or other of the eccentric straps by set screws 35 having milled heads or by other suitable readil detachable means.

The quadrant end of the connecting rod 35 has a bush 31 through which a withdrawable pin 38 is adapted to be passed to engage with a pair of bored lugs or forked arm 25 of the quadrant. The connecting rod 35 is united to the bush 31 towards one side of its central plane so that when the rod is detached from an eccentric strap and the quadrant bush pin 33 has been withdrawn, the rod 35 may be turned over to align with the other eccentric. The connection of the rod 35 to the eccentric strap and with the quadrant is then established by manipulating the set screws 35 and reintroducing the withdrawable quadrant pin 38.

It will be understood that instead of eccentrics, cranks may be employed with a similar disconnectable rod or drive connection for the arm adapted for selective use, or that in place of either eccentric or cranks, appropriately shaped cams may be used, in which case a common drive connection may be provided for the quadrant arm carrying a pair of levers havingcam rollers arranged so that one or other may be engaged with the selector cam for the purpose ofcommunicating the 1:1 or 3:1 drive to the quadrant.

It will also be appreciated that as the eccentric or like modifying drive for the quadrant is mounted in the framework, which carries the depositor hopper; and not upon the hopper itself, the mass subject to oscillation is not increased by the weight of the modifying mechanism, which it will be understood should be kept as light as possible.

I claim:

1. In a machine for depositing chocolate and the like upon continuously travelling moulds, a hopper mounted for oscillation above the moulds and having a depositing nozzle, a pivotally mounted quadrant lever, linkage connecting the quadrant lever to the hopper, means for oscillating the lever and thereby the hopper comprising a drive shaft, a driven shaft, variable speed means connecting the shafts, a first drive means directly driven by said driven shaft and rotating at the same speed as said driven shaft, 3, second drive means carried by said driven shaft, means driven by said driven shaft and operably connected with said second drive means to drive the same at a fixed speed different than the speed of said driven shaft and of said first drive means and connecting means selectively connectible between said respective drive means and said quadrant lever to selectively couple the lever with the driven shaft at different ratios of oscillation for each revolution of said driven shaft.

2. In a machine for depositing chocolate and the like upon continuously travelling moulds, a hopper mounted for oscillation above the moulds and having a depositing nozzle, a pivotally mounted quadrant lever, linkage connecting the quadrant lever to the hopper, means for oscillating the lever and thereby the hopper including a driven shaft, a pair of eccentrics carried by said driven shaft, means for constantly driving one of said eccentrics at a fixed speed different than the speed of the other eccentric and a connecting rod selectively directly connectible between said respective eccentrics and said quadrant lever to selectively couple the lever with the driven shaft at different ratios of oscillation for each revolution of said driven shaft.

3. In a machine for depositing chocolate or the like upon continuously travelling moulds, a hopper mounted for oscillation above the moulds and having a depositing nozzle, a pivotally mounted quadrant lever, adjustable linkage connecting the quadrant lever to the hopper, means for oscillating the lever including a drive shaft, a driven shaft, variable speed means coupling the shafts, a pair of eccentrics closely mounted on said driven shaft, means for driving the eccentrics at relatively diiferent speeds, a pivot on said quadrant lever disposed parallel to the axes of the eccentries on the driven shaft and at least coextensive in length with the axial extent of said eccentrics, and means comprising a connecting rod having at one end a bushing adapted to receive said pivot and the rod being offset towards one end from the transverse central plane of the bushing and the other end having means for selectively connecting the same to one of the eccentrics when the bushing is in one position on said pivot and to the other eccentric when the bushing is in a second position displaced axially 180 degrees from 6 the first position on said pivot, for selectively coupling the quadrant lever with the driven shaft at different ratios of oscillation for each revolution of said driven shaft.

ALLAN ASHMEAD TUNLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,035,299 Baker Aug. 13, 1912 1,645,505 Jensen Oct. 11, 1927 1,696,099 Moores Dec. 18, 1928 1,851,945 Kremmling Mar. 29, 1932 1,973,225 Paterson et al Sept. 11, 1934 2,055,605 Jensen Sept. 29, 1936 

